Take a Nap

Friendly and central, pack earplugs

What we say:

Popular for its pop-art private rooms, well-equipped dorms and exceptionally helpful staff, Take a Nap continues to compete in Bangkok’s ever-expanding hostel scene. While nothing about it blows us away, this is a solid choice for solo travellers or couples seeking a relatively cheap bed in the pricey Silom area.

Time for a nap?

Set in a large renovated concrete “townhouse”, Take a Nap’s ground-floor reception area is staffed by some of the friendliest and most helpful English-speaking folks we’ve come across in any of the 50-plus hostels we’ve checked out in Bangkok. The atmosphere is relaxed yet professional, and security is a priority. A key-card is required to enter the wide glass doors that lead to a cramped lift and stairwell, and again for each individual room.

While it doesn’t boast the outstanding common areas of Lub d or Saphai Pae, Take a Nap’s ground-floor hangout space with high ceilings, a billiards table and widescreen LCD TV is no slouch. Along with a small cafe and dark wood tables, several communal computers beckon guests to check in with Mum back home. The hostel also has coin-op laundry facilities, WiFi is free and all interior spaces are air-conditioned.

Take a Nap has a seven-bed and five-bed dorm room, both mixed, and the set-up is unique compared to most other hostels. Rather than bunks, the thick, firm and wider-than-usual single mattresses with fresh white linens are set on individual frames raised slightly off the floor. Next to each bed is a reading lamp, electrical outlet, personal safe and small bureau that allows for a hint of privacy. Though the dark violet curtains and spartan white walls don’t exactly make the rooms cheerful, they are well-kept.

Personal safes are a big bonus in this price range.

Dorm rooms are big enough that management could have easily slapped in 14 beds if they had opted for bunks, and the reason this didn’t happen probably lies in the bathrooms. Only one small hot water bathroom is shared among each dorm room, which could be an issue during that morning shower rush. On the bright side, the bathroom is “ensuite”, meaning that you don’t have to mosey through the hallways when nature calls in the middle of the night. At 350 baht per bed, the dorms offer good value.

Yet Take a Nap’s bread-and-butter are its array of private rooms, each named after the eclectic and bright murals that burst off the walls. The bold, funky designs include a soothing green bamboo grove, futuristic urban skyline, forests that look like they’re out of a late ’80s Nintendo game and dramatic Japanese-style tidal waves. We checked out the smallest corner “Let’s Rock” double for 1,000 baht, and while it’s comfy and equipped with a small TV and mural that makes you feel like you’re at a rock concert, we found it odd that the modern bathroom is practically the same size as the bedroom.

Larger privates doubles range from 1,150 to 1,300 to 1,500 baht, depending on size, and each comes with TV, hardwood floors, windows and more sensibly sized ensuite bathrooms with modern appliances. If you’re travelling in a small group, a private with four single beds goes for 2,000 baht. Given the common spaces, free breakfast and great staff, these are competitive rates.

Put your lighter up!

As for location, Take a Nap can lay a fair claim to the title of Bangkok’s most centrally located hostel. Situated on Rama IV Road, a busy thoroughfare with morning traffic that could warrant earplugs for light sleepers, it’s a 10-minute stroll to Silom Road, Lumpini Park and Sala Daeng BTS skytrain station. Head in the opposite direction and you’ll hit Sam Yan MRT subway station, with Hualamphong train station and Chinatown not too far beyond that. Across the street lies the sprawling Chulalongkorn University; take the pleasant 30-minute walk through campus and you’ll come out in the heart of Siam Square.

One factor that may keep some away from Take a Nap is its close proximity to Patpongred light district. You can easily avoid the seedy patches if you know where they are (mainly in the alleys off both sides of Surawong Road), though you’ll probably stumble into them if you don’t, and in any case you’re sure to brush up against some of the outflows. But on the whole, Silom is an invigorating area with phenomenal street markets, an unreal selection of food and plenty of non-seedy stuff to keep your senses abuzz.

Last reviewed by: David Luekens
Usually found exploring Bangkok's side streets or south Thailand's islands, David Luekens is an American freelance writer & photographer who finds everyday life in Asia to be extraordinary. You can follow his travails here.